Sugar-cane-mill-feed controller



Feb 13 1923. 1,445,218

E. G. KOCH SUGAR CANE MILL FEED C OlIlROLLER Filed Feb. 28, 1922 2sheets-sheet l y 3mm/do@ dwjam E. G. KOCH SUGAR CANE MILL FEEDCONTROLLER Filed Feb. 28, 1922 2 sheets-sheet 2 fzmkdmaw; I

Patented Fels., ld,

envi/'Ann s. noon, or :aaron conne., Louisiane', fissrsnonjer cnn-Hannro nanna' e. nannies, or rnaa'sniviriir, Lenrsitiinni. f

Application filed February 28, 1.922. Serial e. kees, a

usetul Improvements in Sugar-Cane-Mill-` Feed Controllers; and l dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact fdescription of the invention, suchywill enable others skilled in the artto Whichit appertains to make and use the same.

It hasfbeen dilicult in practice to properly regulate the feeding oitsugar cane to the mill or to the Crushers owing to various causes,amongst which may bel stated:

(l) An uneven supply of cane to thecarrier at the place Where thecarrier is vfed, Which uneven Jfeed is, `oi'f course, carried along tothe mill or Crusher.

(2) The nature of the cane stalks themselves, Whether crooked-orstraight, or long` or short, all of which allect the nature of the feed.Y Y Y.

(8) There is a tendency of the feed cane to nip or to choke up in thechute leading to the mill or crusher, which causes a. considerableunevenness in the i'feed.

There are also other causes which need not be enumerated. i l

Lhis uneveiiness in the feed causes unequal extraction of the juice, andimposes at times excessive strains upon the receiving rolls.

rlhese receiving rolls are ordinarily the Crusher rolls through whichthev cane is passed from the roller before being fed to the grindingrolls. 1

According to my invention l provide power operated means manuallycontrolled, Which in a large measure prevents the choking up of the caneas it leaves the carrier and is fed to the Crusher, and provides asubstantially normal and constant volume of sugar cane fed to theCrusher and mill rolls; thereby increasing the capacity of the millingtandem through the regularity olv the feed` and at the same time aidingin the sucrose extraction and reducing the moisture in the hagasse, dueto maintaining alevel mat of bagasse passing through the mill rolls atthe mill setting required for the thickness oi the mat.

This regularity of feed alsoreduces Wear and tear on the milling tandemby eliminating clicking and nipping of the cane, which in turn reducesvibration and excessive Worktetes7 residing at' sensei.

i ing or' thetop rolls of the millingtandem i hydraulics. a V

invention will be inorefully'lunder'- stood after relierence to theaccompanying drawings, in which like parts are indicated. by similarAreference symbols throughout the several views, 'and in ivhichz-` Figurel is a view in side elevation `of the upper end ofthe cane'carrier Withthe de-V klivery chute connecting the same'witli the crusher rolls,parts being broken away.; and

Figure 2 is a plan view of the device shown in Fig. l. x Y N Arepresents the cane carrier in the form` ot an endless belt whichtravels between the .tired side Walls or rails B. Certain ofthe slats aot this carrier may be providedl vvith` cleats a', it desired, Which-cleats should pi'e'feral'ily be staggered as shown in- Fig. 2.

rlhis carrieris vdriven in the usual or inl any `convenient Way;lthemode of driving saine being well known in the art Willl not hefurther described herein.l n C represents the delivery chute fordeliverinyg` the cane trom the `end of the carrier to the' crusher rollsl),vwliich Crusher rolls may be o l any suitable orfpreferred type.

.'l censtriiction vand operation of the ie rolls not being a part of mypresentv invention will `nothe further described hei'ev betweencrusherrolls before subjecting it to the ordinary milling rolls.` rlilhecontroller can be placed oveil the head shaft drum of` the feeder tableor cross conveyor which conveys cane to the maincane conveyor.

Projecting 4down between the side Walls oi" said chute, l provide caneholding or arresting mechanism comprising a rake E having a series oftines e rigidly attached to the shaft c. rlhese tines are curved, as ate2, rthe Whole y forming a pivoted rake or holdei'someivhat similar tothose used on` harvester-sy i Engaging 'the'back of this rake is ainoi`Y` able beam F, formingwith the side brackets F rectangular yoke.the ends ot which side brackets are connected by the connecting rods Gto the piston rods l-l, iast to the pistons H of thecylinders l.

To prevent sagging et `the piston rods l vlnstead. oit deliveringthecane to the .through the eXhaust pipe S.

may provide a sliding support J, fast at one end to the piston rod andhaving` its other end sliding on the guide rod K which has one end fast,as at c, to the cylinder, and the other end secured, as at 7c', to thetramework of the apparatus. rIhe cylinders may be secured to the sidewalls of the carrier in any convenient way, as by the brackets M andbolts m.

In Figure l I have shown the rake in the lifted position for narrowingdown the throat through which the feed cane passes from the carrier tothe crushers. 'Ihe pistons arev moved in the cylinders by iuid pressure,as water pressure, steam pressure, or the like. I have shown the vfluidpressure applied through the pipe N to the valve P, which is controlledby the hand lever P. 'Ihis valve directs the duid through the pipe Q,moving the piston in the direction for lifting the rake, and through thepipe It in the direction for lowering the rake. The fluid is exhaustedIt will be seen, however, that it will only be necessary to use anyappreciable amount or luid pressure for lifting the rake, as the weightoi the cane thereon and also the Weight or" the parts will tend torestore the rake to the lowest position under the action ot gravity.

rIhe fluid pressure is `applied to the two cylinders simultaneously, andigor this purpose branch pipes It and Q are shown connected to thesecond` cylinder, see l? 2, which is on the opposite side of theapparatus from the first cylinder shown in Iiig. l.

I/Vhile I have shown two cylinders both simultaneously operated, it willbe obvious that a single cylinder with the proper mechanism operatedthereby may be used to swing the rake; but I do not mean to limit theinvention to the use of two cylinders, although this would ordinarilygive a better balanced result.

In the operation of the device, the operator regulates the feed of thecane carried to the mill by swinging the rake to the desired position.rIhis rake will engage the top layer of the feed cane as it passes downthe chute and may be eased oil to feed more cane, or swung upwards toreed less, as desired.

It would be a very simple matter for the operator to learn by experimentthe position of the rake which gives the best results under theconditions prevailing at any given mill.

It will thus be seen that I provide an an rangement by means of which asubstantially regular volume of feed to the mill may be secured withoutexcessive variations therein, and the hereinberore .described resultsmay be obtained thereby.

It will be obvious that various modiiications might be made in theherein described apparatus, and in the construction, combination andarrangement of parts which could be used without departing from thespirit of my invention; and I do not mean to limit the invention to suchdetails except as particularly pointed out in the claims.

I-Iaving thus desc ibediny invention what I claim and desire to secureby Letters Patent ofthe United States is l. In apparatus for regulatingthe .teed of cane to crushing rolls, the combination with a canecarrier, and a chute receiving the cane from the delivery end oi saidcarrier, and

f delivering the same by gravity to said rolls,

or means for checking the liow of the cane down said chute, comprising aswinging rake, power operated means for swinging said rake, and handoperated means for controlling said power operated means.

2. In apparatus for regulating the Yfeed of cane to crushing rolls, thecombination with a cane carrier, and a chute receiving the cane from thedelivery end of said carrier, and delivering the same by gravity to saidrolls, of means for checking the fiow of the cane down said chutecomprising a swinging ralre having tines )rejecting downwardly andcurved towarc s the carrier end, power operated means for swinging saidralre, and hand operated means for controlling said power operatedmeans.

S. In apparatus for regulating the :teed of cane to crushing rolls, thecombination with a cane carrier, and a chute receiving the cane from thedelivery end of said carrier, and delivering the same by gravity to saidrolls, of means for checking the flow of the cane down said chute,comprising a swinging ralre, a fluid pressure system for swinging saidrake, and valve mechanism for conn trolling said fluid pressure system.

4f. In apparatus for regulating the feed et cane to crushing rolls, thecombination with a cane carrier, and a chute receiving the cane from thedelivery end 'of said carrier, and delivering the same by gravity tesaid rolls, of means for cliecl-:ing the dow ofi the cane down saidchute comprising a suf'inging rake having tines projecting downwardlyand curved towards the carrier end, a ilu-id pressure system forswinging said rake, and valve mechanism for controlling said duidpressure system.

nnwann toon.

